Fushigi Yuugi: Saisho No Pēji Den 最初のページ
by TheTeasingMagician
Summary: After years of destruction, the Empire Of Konan's prayers have been answered. The Vermillion Bird of the South has called upon his Priestess: to become a symbol of hope to Konan. He has called upon his Vessel: to speak the words he never could with a human tongue. Calling upon his Escort: to protect and serve the nation until her last breath. It's time to fulfill your role...
1. Fellas, I Think We Just Met A God

_Michii here to give a quick disclaimer and all of that junk, sayin' that only Yuu Watase owns Fushigi Yuugi and of the characters contained within._

 _ **-~**_ _Kaji and all the named supporting characters, belong to me._

 _ **-~**_ _Kaze belongs to my Co-Author, I only have the pleasure of writing about her~_

 _Also, a quick blurb before getting into this-_

 _ **-~**_ _Both_ _Fushigi Yuugi: Saisho No Pēji Den 最初のページ_ _And_ _Fushigi Yuugi - Shinjinbukai Hiai Den_ _are both series made by myself and my Co-author (who has yet to make an account...). And in the true fashion of a timeline: my story-the one you are about to read- is the first novel in this series. So don't go anywhere just yet~_

 _ **-~**_ _Just a quick note as well, both of these stories are still in the making and updates will but coming steady until school picks up once again._

 _Enjoy the very first chapter of_ _Fushigi Yuugi: Saisho No Pēji Den 最初のページ_ _, feel free to contact me and leave some feed-back on my polished turd._

 _The story will always go on, With a new place to explore and a new problematic scene._

 _With each scene change comes a new cast._

 _A new set._

 _More people and new personalities._

 _New love old hate._

 _Watch as this mysterious play continues on its dangerous path._

 _We call upon you now: To join in this Mysterious play._

 _ **Fushigi Yuugi: Saisho No Pēji**_

 _Chapter 1:_

Smoothing out the bent and bruised books in the box,hands unfolded the yellowed pages as they tucked them neatly away.

The chilling fall air swung around the room and fiddled with the pages of the weary and old books that lie open on the floor. A redheaded woman sat cross legged on the rather cold wooden floor and flipped through the pages of the graying book in her hands in an almost absent minded manner.

In truth, her mind was indeed elsewhere. Where that was; on her work shift at the local library. Not that she hated the facility, on the contrary, it was one of the few places that held a friendly studying environment for students. But, late nights with hardly any people (with the exception of the fellow college students who just only now have heard of the assignment that is due the next day) are always hard to get through. The night shifts have always been bothersome to the staff anyways, so why not put the young blood on the job? The young lady clicked her tongue in annoyance as she recalled receiving the phone call from her boss.

"But money is money…." she huffed, ' _Can't afford to be picky.'_

Finally putting away the last book and letting it settle into its rightful place in the box, where it was to be shipped off to the school's library; the red-haired woman pulled her bag up and onto her shoulder before briskly walking out of the small side classroom.

Just like the rustic room she just left, the hallways of the Tokyo Fine Art's University were just as barren. Classes having ended a while ago, the women strolled down the hall alone. Not a sound came from the classrooms on the sides and all of the outside traffic had slowed to a trickle.

Turning the sharp corner, the young women took confident steps to a small cabinet with the name 'Kajiro Minami' in neat, printed kanji. The young women, Kajiro, let out a small exasperated sigh, "I should really change that…'

The annoyance of her full name for others to see was enough to make her correct anyone who calls her such, opting for the less formal name of Kaji.

Reaching inside of the small space, she pulled out a jacket and a tag that held her personally information and rank among the staff and students. Kaji pulled her coat on and adjusted the bag at her side then continued out the door and into the frigid air.

Stopping just short outside the door, the redhead closed her jacket further around her body and started towards the train station, just a mile outside of campus.

The after class sports teams were hard at work and the teachers were also starting to exit the building. Kaji waved cheerfully to a few of her professors and coworkers on the way to the train station and casted others a charming smile.

As Kaji passed the market, the large tower of the train station came into view. Picking up her pace, as not to miss the next train, Kaji slid past the towns people with ease and swiftness.

Closing in on the station itself, Kaji picked up her pace and bounded over to the man behind the glass with a bright smile, "Afternoon Mr. Akaka!"

The older man behind the glass smiled, the crows feet beside his eyes deepened and aged laugh-lines appeared, "Good evening Miss. Minami. The library again I assume?" Mr. Akaka chimed lightly and stepped to the opening in the window.

Kaji's lips curled upwards as she leaned up casually to the window with her elbows resting on the wooden platform below it, "Off to work again," she gave the older man a sleepy smile, "The train is on time today, yes?"

Mr. Akaka nodded with a smile and fiddled with the old printer at his side, hitting it once on the left side and twice on the right, before ripping out a faded ticket and passing it through the glass, " Safe travels Miss."

Ticket in hand, Kaji waved to the older gentleman before turning away and seating herself on the nearest bench, hearing the pleasant older gentleman deal with another person who was behind her.

Not long after seating herself, the young lady turned her head to the oncoming train. The large, ageing piece of machinery rolled into the station ominously and groaned before coming to a halt in front of the waiting crowd of people.

Slipping through the crowd of people, Kaji walked through the gaping doors of the train and to the back, grabbing onto the loop above her head. The train creaked and groaned in protest as the waves of people climbing aboard it's back, but soon settled on the tracks once again.

It's slow but abrupt movement lurched Kaji and the fellow train riders forward, making them latch onto anything to steady themselves.

The sun hung low in the sky when the creaking beast came to a slow at the Hideaki Port Station. The sea of people flowed out onto the waiting platform and went their separate ways. Kaji, wanting to exit the rather decrepit vehicle, moved quickly to the front and bounded to the platform below.

The once blue sky was now painted red and orange as the last bits of light cast long shadows on the buildings and streets. The cold wind turned colder as it nipped at the young woman's cheeks and nose. Fall would be coming to an end soon and winter would be there to take its place.

The young women took confident strides toward the large, looming building before her, and jogged up the cold stone steps. Kaji waved at the regular patrons and the other staff as she entered the large building.

Approaching the front desk, Kaji grinned at the women behind it, ¨Morning Ma'am.¨ she said and slid the plastic covered badge across the desk, ¨Here for the night shift.¨

The older woman nodded tiredly and allowed Kaji to punch in her card. Hiking her bag up higher on her shoulder, Kaji made her way into the large, book filled area of the library. Moving to the main desk in short strides, Kaji again greeted another woman behind a desk, ¨Evening Mrs. Tenashi!"

The elderly woman behind the wooden desk jumped a bit, before turning around and smiling, ¨Oh! Kaji dear, goodness you startled me."

Kaji, smiling apologetically, leaned over and put her elbows on the desk, ¨Sorry ´bout that Ma'am," Kaji laughed.

¨That's quite alright dear,¨ the older women put the book she was currently occupied with on the desk between her and the redhead, ¨Let me take your card, dear.¨

Kaji obliged, sliding the plastic card over to the woman and shrugging off her jacket, ¨Anything you want done before closing tonight Ma'am?¨ Kaji asked, throwing Mrs. Tenashi a charming smile.

Mrs. Tenashi, finished with carding Kaji in, folded her hands on the desk and thought about this question for a moment, ¨Well, the cultural section and the agricultural section are a complete mess,¨ The older woman let out an annoyed sigh, ¨Some young man came and picked up book after book.¨ Mrs. Tenashi shook her head, ¨That section is a complete disaster now."

Kaji slid her card into her back pocket and flashed the woman another smile, ¨Consider it done Ma'am!"

breathed a sigh of relief, ¨You are a treat my dear,¨ The older woman gathered her coat, ¨I'll be out of your way in a moment.¨

Kaji slid behind the wide desk and took out a notebook and textbook, before shoving her bag below the desk. Kaji waved out and settled down in the large chair behind her.

The library was already slowing down and the murmur of the public were non-existent. People were filing out of the building and the lights were turned down low and soon all was silent.

Kaji let the smile fall from her face and slid further into the chair, tapping her pencil on the desk in boredom.

¨Already….¨ she slumped down on the desk, ¨so bored.¨

All work done and doodles filling the page, Kaji´s attention was now on the ever ticking clock on the wall across from her.

Wandering around the library, helping any poor soul studying these late hours and pointing people in the right direction.

"Sure, the classic right? I know the one, right down the side of row W and to the left."

And a little-

"Um n-no…. here let me put that away… yes thank you ma'am. Oh no, no trouble at all."

The night shift was always the worst.

As the people started to filter out and when a few stragglers remained, Kaji resorted to just kicking her feet up and relaxing.

The sounds slowed and so did her surroundings, people filed out and Kaji was left alone with her thoughts.

A warm breeze weaved its way through the old books, played with the open pages of some and seemingly wrapped itself around the back of the library and settled a comfortable weight over the chilly night.

A noise, one that was foreign to the library, drove Kaji out of her thoughts.

Sitting up straight, Kaji looked around for the odd sound and its source. It was like a screech, but nothing metallic, more organic.

Bird-like.

Standing and looking around, Kaji turned to the left most section and scanned the shelves with honey orbs.

She froze, knees locked and hands clasped tightly together as she watched the misty red glow flutter around the shelves with wings of velvet and eyes of crystalline jade.

And all at once, it was gone. The warmth, the glow and- whatever that was.

Standing still and completely lost as to what just happened, Kaji suddenly fell back into her chair.

'Okay, what the hell? Was it like headlights from the road outside?' Kaji thought, tugging at her sleeves and pulling them over her suddenly very cold hands.

She chewed her lip, 'Maybe Chihiro was right…' Kaji thought, remembering what a close friend said a day ago about Kaji's horrendous sleeping habits. 'Maybe I'm just real tired.' Kaji reasoned.

Letting out a sigh and relaxing again, Kaji turned her back to the section with the strange velveteen bird and focused on her meaningless doodles in her notebook for the rest of her shift.

The clock ticking was obnoxiously loud now, and her tapping feet didn't help. Mindlessly fiddling with a pencil on her paper, she barely even saw the young women next to her until she cleared her throat.

"Excuse me?"

Kaji jumped to attention, 'something to do finally?'

"Yes ma'am? Do you need anything?"

The young women in front of her was quite the sight, long slender face and laxed expression framed by locks of pewter hair and beautiful olive green eyes. Resting her hands on her hips the women faced Kaji with dull expression, "yes, do you mind pointing me in the direction of the fashion literature section?"

" _Funny_ ," Kaji thought, " _she didn't seem like the type."_

But in response Kaji nodded, "anything you are looking for in particular?"

The white haired woman's eyes drooped with exhaustion, " _poor thing…_ "

" Yes, it is an older document, printed about 50 years ago."

Kaji stopped for a moment, " _she's not gonna find a 50 year old document here…..but maybe up in the…."_ Kaji wrestled with the thought for a moment before letting out a sigh.

"Listen, it's late and there's hardly anybody here," Kaji pulled out her key card, "and you're not gonna find a document that old down here."

The woman across from her sighed irritably, "well do you know where I can find something like that?"

"Sure I do, but don't tell the staff I let you up there." Kaji handed the other woman her card, "go to the lobby and to your right should be a vending machine and a stairwell behind it. Go up and swipe the card. I'm sure you'll find what you need."

The lighter haired woman arched an eyebrow, "it's locked under a card?"

Kaji shrugged, "it's old stuff but," Kaji flashed her a smile," I think you can handle it."

The woman thanked Kaji and straightened her stance, "I'll return it immediately after I am finished with it."

Kaji just gave her a quick side smile and watched the white haired woman make her way over to the lobby.

Kaji watched the pewter haired woman approach the ends of the shelving, getting ready to sit back down when those same pale jade eyes pierced through the atmosphere again. The ruby red bird flew silently and suddenly, straight for the white hair woman.

Kaji reaching outward, one foot raised and ready to run forwards and a yell threatening to come up her throat, watched as the velveteen bird spread its wings around and forward, then pierced right through the woman and disappeared.

The scream died in Kaji's throat as the white haired woman just kept walking, soon vanishing behind the corner, like nothing happened.

The panic vanishing and feeling drained, the redhead just fell back against the table in awe. The same questions arose but exhaustion was always the answer.

Kaji longed for the end of her shift, just so she could sleep and not be bothered with whatever hallucinations these were.

"Maybe giving her your key card wasn't that smart…." Kaji settled back down in the chair, "she could just walk right out that door with it…."

 _"Nice going dumbass, there goes your job!"_

Kaji shooed the thoughts away and looked for something else to focus on.

Remembering Mrs. Tenashi´s words, Kaji bounced up and skipped to the cultural and agricultural sections. Sure, it was organizing books, but at the moment, the redhead would do anything to rid herself of the boredom.

Running her fingers along the spines of the books in the cultural section, Kaji agreed that the section was a complete mess. Books lay on the floor, some half open and others stacked on top of each other.

Kaji ran her fingers through her hair, pushing it back, ¨Jeez...The hell was he researching anyway?¨

The mess upon the floor and the books that were lazily thrown back into the bookshelf look like something that a mad scientist would have done during his research.

Settling down on the floor, Kaji slid all three piles nearer to her and began distributing them to the different categories. Running a hand down the spines of the different cultural and agricultural books, Kaji sheveled some of the more battered books with care. Sweeping aside the agricultural books, the young women organized the cultural books,

¨Japanese history…..The world wars...Asia….China…." Kaji paused to gaze and feel the old red tome in her hands. The book was of average size, but the stains of a darker red contrasted the once vibrant red beneath it. It´s brown spine was binded with care and the black, hand painted chinese characters were faded but clearly read, ¨The Universe Of The Four Gods.¨

Thankful for her chinese lessons, Kaji ran her fingers over the painted kanji, ¨Better be careful with this one I suppose….¨

Reaching up, Kaji carefully shelved the old tome and reached for the next book on the pile, ¨Romania…..The Germanic countries….more Japanese history….The Universe Of The Four Gods….the chinese money sy-¨ Kaji stopped abruptly.

She scrambled the other books out of the way and stared down the familiar, old red tome with an air of confusion.

Looking back up to the spot where the book once was put, Kaji was surprised to see an empty spot. Looking back down in bewilderment, Kaji examined the book, ´maybe it fell…?´

The book gave no hint about how it got there, just sat there innocently. Like a book.

Shaking her head, Kaji once again reached up to put the book back on the shelf.

A breezy, hot air swung past Kaji and down the bookshelf, effectively knocking the book from her outstretched hands. The ratty tome fell to the floor with a ´thump´ and fell open.

Letting out a sigh of annoyance, Kaji lent down and picked up the book for a third time and scanned the page.

On the title page, a gorgeous phoenix was painted on with the same,aging black ink. Running her fingers over the beautiful illustration, she found words written in the same ink below it.

 _´Herein contains the tale of the young ladies of legend and their quest to gather the seven constellations of Suzaku together. And if you, the esteemed reader, should read to the stories end, the spell contained within-¨_

Kaji shut the book with a loud clap, ¨An old chinese fairy tale huh?¨ she snorted, ¨cute.¨

Once again she placed the book on the shelf and continued on with her cleaning. Upon turning around, Kaji let out sharp gasp. There, on top of the pile, laid the same red book, with the same old ink that read ¨The Universe Of The Four Gods.¨

Feeling her stomach turn, she knelt down and grabbed with book roughly, ¨What the hell...¨

The book sat heavy in her hands, open and unmoving,

 _'-this book shall bestow upon you the power of the heroine, and grant you your wish. For indeed the moment the page is turned the story will become reality….."_

The young women was instantly blinded by a bright crimson light. Kaji squeezed her eyes shut and threw the book down on the ground and attempted to cover her eyes. Kaji felt as if her stomach was turning inside out and her whole body felt as if it would melt from the heat that the light emanated.

Soon, she felt as if she was lifted and thrown, and she felt nothing but white hot burning.

 _Feel free to leave some feed-back, and I'm always up to make some new friends on here. I hope you enjoyed it and I'll see you in the next update ^^_

 _ **-~ Michii**_


	2. Thanks! I Hate It!

Chapter 2:

Hands stuffed in her coat pockets, Kaze gripped the thoroughly crumpled note within. Grumbling to herself as the cold wind bit at her nose and cheeks, she paced the sidewalk of Tokyo Japan.

Digging into the paper in her pocket with her nails, Kaze chewed her lip.

Just feeling the note between her fingers filled her with agitation.

Aimed towards her own aunt.

' _Change of heart? Really now? Who would believe that bullshit.'_ Kaze grumbled mentally as she recalled the contents of the letter.

Her aunt, whom she has had no contact with since she was a young girl, had suddenly seen the woes of her ways and wanted to change before she passed away.

More like she suddenly seeing that she needed someone to take over Sukaidansu: Tokyo's leading fashion firm.

' _Sure, why not just send someone who has no idea what they are doing…?"_

Kaze shuffled to the side as another couple came onto the sidewalk, fumbling with her phone as she went. Flipping the screen up and dialing an unfamiliar number on the pad then waited with the phone close to her ear.

"Yes this is Mastuori speaking?" A voice cracked through the speaker in a chillingly familiar way that made Kaze want to hurl the piece of technology into busy traffic.

Instead, Kaze pulled the phone closer, "This is Kaze, calling about the document." ' _That you could most definitely could not get yourself.'_

The older woman on the other line sighed irritably before speaking. ' _Yeah you sure sound pissed.'_

"Yes, Kaze," Mastuori said the name like her mouth was as dry as her humor, "the Miho Issue 26 made 55 years ago by the-"

"Yes...that." Kaze interrupted, biting her tongue and preventing her from lashing out at the old hag. ' _Yeah I don't give a shit about it I just need the name.'_

"It should be at the National Library." She said in a dry, clipped tone, "just tell the lady at the front desk my name and everything will come together."

Kaze sneered at Masturoi's grossly self-centered tone, "Yeah, sure."

Kaze looked around and to the darkening sky, "Are you sure my aunt needs this now?"

Through the phone Mastuori clicked her tongue and groaned loudly, Kaze quickly pulled the phone away from her ear and raised an eyebrow, _'is she….dying…? Or…?'_ Kaze grinned at the thought.

' _That was the most disgusting noise I've ever heard….'_

"Yes you- you- bimbo! We need it now!" She screeched into the phone. Kaze could practically feel her wanting to claw her way through the phone and strangle her.

Grimacing and not wanting to hear another word, Kaze slapped the phone shut and stuffed the demon-tainted phone in her coat pocket once more.

Not caring about the fuss Mastuori would kick up at Sukaidansu about Kaze hanging up on her, Kaze stomped to the train station.

Weaving her way through the busying streets of Tokyo, Kaze kept her head down and hands in her pockets; her mind brewing with the things she would do if the world were without consequences.

Not even paying attention half the time, Kaze harshly stomped past people, closing in on the train station.

Stopping before a redhead who was leaning up against the counter to talk to the older gentleman, Kaze faced the train clocks, ' _looks like they are all on time today….'_

"Hello? Miss?"

A older voice drove Kaze out of her thoughts, "Yes! I'm sorry."

The woman before her was gone and Kaze took her place before the ticket master, "Hello, one for the 6:40 train." Kaze said and placed the 830¥ on the counter and pushed it through the window.

The older man just smiled and accepted the money, and fiddled with the machine at his side.

Hitting it once on the left side and twice on the right, before ripping out a faded ticket and passing it through the glass, " Safe travels Miss."

"Thank you." Kaze said, hearing the train approaching and running to meet it.

Pushing through the crowd of people, Kaze squeezed onto the train and fought to grip one of the railings. But because of her shorter stance, she settled for a cold pole to cling onto as the train lurched into motion.

Swaying in unison, the people on the train chatted among each other as Kaze fiddled with the lines on her phone through her pocket.

Within a few minutes, Kaze felt the train slow beneath her feet and everyone around her swayed and lurched forwards with the movement of the train. The train made an awful creaking as it slowed to a stop before Hideaki Port Station.

Exiting the busy train onto the equally busy station, Kaze squeezed herself out of the station and made a beeline for the looming building directly in front of her.

' _Okay, make this quick Kaze. In and out and you're done.'_

Gliding up the steps, Kaze reached the top and grasped the door, pulling it open.

Upon entering the grand building, Kaze gazed at their polished marble floors and high ceilings.

Walking slowly to take in the sight she was seen few times before, Kaze made she way over to, what she imagined to be the front desk.

The woman sitting there was resting her chin on her palm, looking down at the collection of papers on the wide desk, but looked up as Kaze approached.

"How can I help you?" She said in a soft, tired voice.

"I'm here because Mastuori Sato sent me." Kaze said, doing what the older woman on the phone said to.

A pregnant pause.

The lady at the front desk blinked, chin still on her hand, she looked at Kaze with an air of confusion.

' _That's what I thought.'_

Kaze sighed, "Nevermind, i'll find it myself. Thank you."

Turning on her heel, Kaze stalked away to the large shelves, ' _Okay, now how hard can it be to find a fashion magazine?'_

Going straight for the catalogs, Kaze thumbed through the cards, looking for first letters of the issue.

Finding something close, Kaze strolled over to the left-most wall shelf and browsed through the shelf, starting low then making her way up.

"Oh come on…." she murmured, raking her fingers through her hair.

Coming up empty for the magazine issue, Kaze turned back to the catalog to try something else.

'Author…?' Kaze hummed, wringing her hands together as she thought.

'Who even wrote it?' Kaze scowled, 'who even writes this shit?'

' _Oh yeah, I do.'_

Kaze, not wanting to call up Mastuori again, she glanced around the library.

'Maybe someone here would know….?"

Spying another wide desk with a woman behind it near the back of the library, Kaze almost pumped her fists in victory as she saw the badge hanging onto her shirt.

Straightening her back and pulling down on her shirt, Kaze walked over, planning what she was going to say.

Looking around, then looking back, Kaze was rooted in her tracks. From where she saw the woman sitting at the desk and now, the woman was still there but behind her anything but ordinary.

The woman was hunched over, her red hair falling around her face and around her, hovering and holding her was-red.

Velvet wings folded themselves around her shoulders and feathers of ruby red hovered around her like halos. The-bird- looked up sharply and its eyes connected with Kaze's, pale jade and olive green clashed. And it was gone. Like there was nothing there in the first place.

Kaze blinked. And blinked again. But it was gone.

Kaze rubbed at her eyes and stood by one of the far shelves, questioning what her eyes just saw. Looking back again, everything was normal.

Sighing and rubbing the bridge of her nose, Kaze knew she was tired and chalked it up to nothing more than that.

' _Okay just go get the damn magazine…'_

Unlike the woman at the front desk, this one didn't look up when Kaze approached. Her wine locks were swept back by her fingers as she wrote something in a notebook.

 _'A student huh? She doesn't look any older than I do I suppose.'_

Kaze cleared her throat, "Excuse me?"

The woman's head snapped up and Kaze was met with wide, honey brown eyes and an immediate smile.

"Yes ma'am? Do you need anything?" The redhead said with a slight drawl and a wide smile.

 _'I mean-come on 'ma'am'? I can't be any older than you._ ' Kaze thought sourly, ' _do I look old….?_ '

Kaze shook out the thoughts and put her hands on her hips, "yes, do you mind pointing me in the direction of the fashion literature section?"

The other woman's lips curled up into a crooked smile, "Anything you are looking for in particular?"

' _Oh boy, she's a smiley one….'_

" Yes, it is an older document, printed about 50 years ago." Kaze said.

Now standing, the redhead paused as she thought and hummed, raking her fingers through her hair and sweeping it back.

"Listen, it's late and there's hardly anybody here," the redhead said, letting down her smile and pulling off her badge, "and you're not gonna find a document that old down here."

' _Ah great, thanks for the help .'_ Kaze raised an eyebrow and frowned.

"Well do you know where I can find something like that?" Kaze said irritably, not wanting to go back empty handed.

"Sure I do, but don't tell the staff I let you up there." And the smile is back.

"Go to the lobby and to your right should be a vending machine and a stairwell behind it. Go up and swipe the card. I'm sure you'll find what you need." The redhead said, handing Kaze the badge.

Kaze raised her eyebrows in surprise, ' _okay, it's under lock and key? And you're giving me your badge?_ '

"it's locked under a card?" Kaze voiced her thoughts.

The redhead shrugged, "it's just old and fragile stuff but," She flashed Kaze a smile," I think you can handle it."

Kaze felt gratitude swell in her chest and guilt for the rude monologue she was providing for the young woman before her.

"Thank you," Kaze bowed and clutched the badge, "I'll return it immediately after I am finished with it."

The redhead's lips curled upwards again and she wished Kaze well on her search.

Kaze turned on her heel and walked back out of the shelved area and into the lobby of the National Library.

Listening to her heels click on the marble floor, Kaze paced over to the place the woman pointed her to.

Returning to the entrance of the library, Kaze passed by the-now passed out- woman at the front desk. Chuckling at the sleeping Burnett who still had her head propped up on her hand, Kaze tiptoed past her.

Moving to the immediate right, Kaze found the vending machine. It's dim, fluorescent lights flickered in and out, casting shadows over its contents and the small room around.

Above it was the darkened,wooden staircase, just as the staff member had described.

As Kaze took her first steps up the stairs, they creaked and groaned under her feet and the whole stairwell was filled with a heavy, pleasant but odd, warmth as she walked.

Reaching the top of the staircase and standing on the small landing, Kaze swiped the card through the red blinking machine attached to the door.

Successfully unlocking the door, Kaze stepped into the room and was instantly swarmed by the musky and harsh scent of the aging books around her.

Looking around and feeling the walls beside her, Kaze looked for a light switch but found nothing. But upon bumping into a tall pole, Kaze found a light and turned the knob right and watched as the room flooded with a warm yellow light.

'Okay, the Miho….' Kaze wandered the dark shelves and ran her fingers over the old spines.

Pacing up and down the restricted section of the library, Kaze shuffled among the dead and forgotten in search of the magazine.

'Ah! Here's a start, fashion magazines!' Kaze grinned at her discovery.

'The Horo issue 19….Megumi issue 34….the Isu-'

A loud thud came from behind Kaze and jolted her out of her thoughts and she spun around on her heel.

Startled, Kaze clutched at the sleeves of her black coat and scanned the room for anyone or anything.

But upon seeing nothing, Kaze let out a sigh of relief and went to go back to searching the shelves. But as she went to turn on her heel, she spotted a lone book lying on the floor behind her.

With nothing else around it, the red book just sat on the floor, open to the first page.

Kaze turned to face it and took a few paces before picking it up to put it back on its shelf. Looking at the spot where it fell, Kaze looked for some sign about how it got there, but not finding any, she placed it back on the shelf and went back to browsing.

Touching the next few spines of the books on the shelf, Kaze pushed past some in search of the issue.

' _Oh come on, how hard is it to find a damn magazine!?_ '

'Okay, now here is the M section…..the Maku issue.. and the universe of the four gods...oh here's the-' Kaze stopped, fingers rest on the old and battered spine of a familiar red book.

"What the hell….?" Kaze pulled the book out of its place and turned it over, confirming her fears.

The cover read the same as the last time, "The Universe Of The Four Gods" in black ink. Kaze gasped in shock and watched as the book forced itself open, emitting a bright red light, preventing Kaze from seeing anything. Putting her hands over her face, Kaze felt a scream coming up her throat as she felt her limbs become weightless. Her body burned for the inside out, starting in the pit of her stomach and spreading like a wildfire through her.

Soon all went numb and that was all Kaze felt.


	3. I Came, I Saw and I Wanna Go Home

Michii here to give a quick disclaimer and all of that junk, sayin' that only Yuu Watase owns Fushigi Yuugi and of the characters contained within.

-~ Kaji and all the named supporting characters, belong to me.

-~ Kaze belongs to my Co-Author, I only have the pleasure of writing about her~

Also, a quick blurb before getting into this-

-~ Both Fushigi Yuugi: Saisho No Pēji Den 最初のページ And Fushigi Yuugi - Shinjinbukai Hiai Den are both series made by myself and my Co-author (who has yet to make an account...). And in the true fashion of a timeline: my story-the one you are about to read- is the first novel in this series. So don't go anywhere just yet~

-~ Just a quick note as well, both of these stories are still in the making and updates will but coming steady until school picks up once again.

Enjoy the very first chapter of Fushigi Yuugi: Saisho No Pēji Den 最初のページ, feel free to contact me and leave some feed-back on my polished turd.

* * *

Chapter 3:

Without even opening her eyes, she knew something was wrong.

The smooth, cold wooden floor was no longer there. Things that felt like stones and twigs poked and prodded at her back, and the fluorescent lights above were also gone and replaced by warm beams of lights.

Feeling the weight return to her body and her limbs heavy on a dirt ground, Kaji peeled her eyes open and stared blankly at the dirt. Opening her eyes burned as she blinked rapidly, confused.

Processing the scene before her, Kaji's heart pounded and pulse raced as she flew up into a sitting position.

Gazing around the scene wildly, the redhead stumbled up and forward, tripping on her own feet as she looked at the new forest scene before her.

A colorful choice of words tumbled out of her mouth as she desperately looked for anything she might recognize.

"What in the world…?" She whispered in disbelief, tripping over herself for the third time.

Moving in between the trees in the unfamiliar forest land, "Shit….we hardly have any forests in Tokyo anyway…."

Stumbling up a hill-like area, the dense trees broke away into a grassy clearing and the sun pelted the ground in bright beams and warmed the area. If not in such a panic, Kaji would have stopped to admire the beauty, maybe even come back to the spot again, but her attention was on the red roofed buildings peeking shyly through the trees.

Pushing her way to the edge of the forest, she got a better look at the buildings. Kaji looked on as what was just a few buildings turned into a whole city. Kaji blinked her widened eyes in disbelief. A whole city.

A city that Kaji had never once seen in Tokyo,"If i'm still even in Tokyo…"

The longer she stared out into the city the more her fears were confirmed. The city looked almost-ancient…

Kaji looked onto the slightly familiar red, curved style roofs in confusion, trying to place where she had seen them before. Her history class came into mind and she cursed aloud as she recalled the oversized textbook she carried around. Just the day before they had read a chapter with the watercolor illustrations of grassy field and the rippled roofs.

"China."

Kaji's heart fell to her stomach as she gazed at-what should be a beautiful scene-but was shown under dramatic and threatening lighting.

It wasn't even a question; here she was. In China.

The more she stared, the more confused she became.

Wondering became a rapid search for answers. 'How did I get here?'

The redhead tripped over herself as she ripped through the trees, desperate to try and get to the city.

"Maybe…..maybe this is just some weird part of town, yeah?" Kaji reasoned, "yeah, and this is all going to be some stupid…."

Skidding to a sudden halt before a deep trench between the tantalizingly close city and the forest behind her, Kaji caught herself before she ran head first into the gorge.

Kaji panted, catching her breath, "You're kidding…."

Slumping against the nearest tree, the young woman let out an aggressive sigh.

'Is there some other way around?' Kaji whipped her head back and forth before spotting a well used dirt trail that lead down the side of the hill. Hoping to find her way down, Kaji jogged to the trail and followed it down.

'But it looks like it can go up too….' Kaji thought as she followed the trail up with her eyes, but shook the thought out of her head and continued down the trail and toward the city.

Increasing her pace as gravity pulled her down the steep hill, Kaji skidded to a stop as the trail had run out and was replaced with green grass. But now seeing the city up close, she could see people. Actual people running around. They differed so much from the modern Tokyo clothes that Kaji felt out of place and alone just standing outside of the city.

"It's better to go….down right?" Kaji asked nobody particular, trying to talk herself through the ordeal. Before fully making up her mind, her legs took her toward- what she could only hope to be the entrance.

Moving away and around the crowd of people also entering the city, Kaji passed through the archways with little to no problems, she moved away from the center of the road and stuck to the edges of the building like glue. The city itself could be called magnificent, if not for the overwhelming fear Kaji felt at the moment. People ran from every direction, with colorful displays open and people waiting to buy from them. The people themselves were dressed traditionally and simply. Women wearing red and neutral dresses were accompanied by men who wore plainer clothes, and they just strolled along. Couples and wanderers stopped at stalls and went inside side buildings that were clustered and shoved together, painted bright red or a sandy brown. Salesmen chatted and called for customers to come in and try a product of their choice and others just put out messily painted signs with Chinese characters written on them.

Kaji stopped and stared at one sign that clearly read, "Takimoto" in Chinese symbols.

'Everything is in Chinese too….' Kaji felt her panic rise again as she looked around to see more of the same writing on wooden signs all throughout the city.

Clutching to her sleeves, Kaji looked for somewhere, anywhere to get out of the suffocating crowd. Proceeding forward in a run, Kaji dodged bystanders and made her way deeper into the city.

With her eyes on a large, wide building in the middle of the busy city, Kaji made her way to it as quickly as she could.

"Maybe I could find an official and find out where I really am." Kaji thought, hoping for someone, anyone to tell her this was all some misunderstanding.

Bumbling around uselessly, Kaji stumbled toward a pair of towering gates that she found herself in front of.

Standing front of it's iron bar, men standing like statues and shoulders tensed and wide, held their arms behind their backs and gripping glistening spears at their sides. Not the most inviting thing.

Stopping short as the dark eyes of the men waiting outside of the gates locked with hers, they moved to the front and changed grip with either hand. Kaji's gut twisted as she tore her eyes from them and pretended to look else where as she made her way to the right of the wall. Kaji was once again at a loss as she didn't feel safe under the eyes of the guards.

With her idea of asking for some sort of direction shattered, Kaji followed the wall around its perimeter in a rather panicky daze.

Reaching the quarter section of the large stone wall around the even larger building, Kaji stumbled upon a rather large band of women, making their way through another grand door on the side of the wall.

Sensing opportunity, Kaji hurriedly made her way to the bustling women, whom payed no attention to the strangely dressed foreigner. Kaji walked along behind, her footsteps amounting to nothing amount the chatter of the ladies in front of her.

Passing under the slightly smaller gate with the other women, Kaji distanced herself once within the now suffocating walls. She was overwhelmed at the size and structure of the building, palace before her. She stumbled back and gaped at the slopes and curves of the building. Reaching up into the heavens and gently back down before curving around sharp corners, Kaji followed the edges with her eyes.

"God, where even am I….?" She whispered, drawing her eyes away from the grand mansion and sweeping the grounds with anxious orbs.

All of the other women, oblivious to Kaji's presence, continued along another path and entering the building. Observing the path, Kaji was torn between exploring the opposite path the women had taken or risk being seen by unwanted attention and causing a fuss. Kaji hesitantly paddled down the opposite path in hopes to run into a more friendly person who could help her without attracting attention.

Stalking her way around a corner, Kaji came onto a small courtyard.

"A….yard?" Kaji looked up and around, "How big even is this place…?"

She slinked around and stood in the middle of a long polished hallway that was exposed to the outside air. Looked around, she saw many doors that lined the outside corridors and was confused.

"What if someone comes out? What if they throw me in jail for trespassing?" Kaji bit at her fingers, whipping her head back and forth, looking for something to answer her never ending questions.

"And you are….?"

Kaji, startled, spun quickly on her heel to face the voice behind her, "I-I uh…"

Behind her, a man stood with his arms tucked out of sight within his sleeves, raising one delicate eyebrow at the young women in front of him.

Standing bewildered as he took her in, eyes passing over her strange outfit, "Who are you?" He questioned, narrowing his golden, honey eyes.

Kaji stood at attention, arms crossed and trying to make herself look bigger, " I'm just a little lost here….."

Kaji forced herself to look him in the eye, and saw only surprise and shock.

"I-I'm sorry for intruding, I just don't know where I am and I saw this building and thought maybe someone here could help me…." Kaji tried to explain, balancing her weight on either foot. Clearing her throat she tried to straighten her tense muscles, preparing to run if the situation with this strange man turned bad.

Not replying, the man just gawked. His long brown hair fell delicately around his face and shimmered in the lowering sun. His arm fell from their position inside of his sleeves and hung limply at his heavily decorated sides.

"If you could just point me in the direction of-"

"Your name. What is it?"

"W-what?" Kaji cringed inwardly, 'What? Okay I know I'm trespassing but I'm trying to explain here….."

"It's Kajiro…"

Closing his open mouth, he straightened his stance. "Kajiro, where do you hail from?" The man's voice dropped as he looked Kaji dead in the eyes.

"A-ah yes, I was wondering if you could point me in the direction of home? Tokyo?" Kaji tried to loosen up the atmosphere with a friendly smile toward the stranger, "Do you happen to know how far away I am? I'm sure I can find a train or something to bring me back home…."

'Please don't throw me in jail….'

* * *

Feel free to leave some feed-back, and I'm always up to make some new friends on here. I hope you enjoyed it and I'll see you in the next update ^^

-~ Michii


	4. Panic Time To Panic

_Michii here to give a quick disclaimer and all of that junk, sayin' that only Yuu Watase owns Fushigi Yuugi and of the characters contained within._

 _ **-~**_ _Kaji and all the named supporting characters, belong to me._

 _ **-~**_ _Kaze belongs to my Co-Author, Alien Punk, I only have the pleasure of writing about her~_

 _Also, a quick blurb before getting into this-_

 _ **-~**_ _Both_ _Fushigi Yuugi: Saisho No Pēji Den 最初のページ_ _And_ _Fushigi Yuugi - Shinjinbukai Hiai Den_ _are both series made by myself and my Co-author (who has yet to make an account...). And in the true fashion of a timeline: my story-the one you are about to read- is the first novel in this series. So don't go anywhere just yet~_

 _ **-~**_ _Just a quick note as well, both of these stories are still in the making and updates will but coming steadily until school picks up once again._

 _Enjoy the very first chapter of_ _Fushigi Yuugi: Saisho No Pēji Den 最初のページ_ _, feel free to contact me and leave some feedback on my polished turd._

* * *

 _Chapter 4:_

The pain came in unrelenting waves in her back, the dull throbbing waking her from her forced sleep.

An exhausted groan fell from the woman's lips followed by a grimace of pain as she hauled herself into a sitting position.

Her silvery tresses looped themselves around her face as she stared, wide-eyed at the grassy ground. She felt heavy humid air fall around her and dampen her clothes, unlike the dry air of the library. The green around her was unjust in what should have been the library and the soggy ground under her palms made her skin crawl.

Ripping her eyes from the ground, the silver-haired woman gazed around the darkening forest around her.

The fog shrouded the trunks of the new-found trees and dulled their branches into nothing but muddled color within the Wraith. The low lying clouds hovered over the ground and blanketed the young woman's legs where she was sitting in the small, dirt-covered clearing.

Panic gripped the woman's stomach and tied it in knots as she scrambled to get up off the forest floor. She didn't understand, " _how….why..'_

The woman remembered everything up until this moment, the phone-call, the library and searching for the magazine…..and the red light. No matter how hard the young woman picked her brain, she could remember anything else.

Kaze breathed deeply, trying to calm her ever pounding heart as tears pricked the back of her eyes.

' _I don't understand….how did I get here?"_

Kaze tried to fight the quickly rising panic as she tried the find some sort of landmark that she knew of. A bit farfetched, but the pewter haired woman refused to believe that anything out of the ordinary had happened. For all she knew, she could be dreaming, even if she didn't remember falling asleep….

The woman set off blindly in a random direction, scrambling for some sort of familiar place. But even within the first few steps, the young woman felt an overwhelming sense of dread. One that made her muscles tighten and her hair stand on edge.

Pushing past the branches and thicket she tore open the palms, clawing her way through until it thinned out into an opening.

There was nothing, not a single thing.

Nothing here looked fimillar.

' _Hell, there aren't even any forests this big in Tokyo…'_

Amidst the unfamiliar surroundings- patted down pathways made of thin dirt reached out from under her feet and spread on through the forest. With the single spark of hope that has been ignited in her chest, the fair-haired woman's feet carried her onto the nearest path in a hurry.

Kaze's feet hit the dry ground harshly as she watched the trees around her change the farther in she went.

' _How long has it been…?'_ Her worry increased more and more with each passing minute, which soon grew to hours and her panic had returned.

There wasn't a single sign of civilization, only the trees that she passed. Not as single sound besides the nature around her, feeling more and more sinister by the minute.

As Kaze weaved her way around trees, the sun was setting lower and lower; shining through the trees with bright orange and yellow rays. But even at this hour, Kaze couldn't see any tall, brightly lit buildings that Tokyo was known for.

For hours, she walked. Her feet dragged and ached even more with each step, and the bottoms of her shoes were worn and scuffed into rough rubber stubs. Until finally she slowed to a stop, her face flushed as she breathed in the cold air.

Tears pricked the back of her eyes again as she shivered in the darkening forest.

Kaze debated calling out for help, calling for anyone but she hadn't seen a single person or footprint on the path she'd been on for hours.

She fought with the idea of finding someplace to take up a shelter for the night, but the sounds of the trees rustling in the wind sent chills down her spine and made her think otherwise.

But an unfamiliar sound rang through the trees for the first time since Kaze found herself here, the sound of metal clanging together.

The sharp metallic sound rang through the trees and made Kaze's hair stand on end.

Kaze bit the inside of her cheek before clearing her throat and forcing her voice to come out of her throat.

"Hello…?"

"Oh? Is someone there?"

Kaze almost screamed, but her mouth just hung open in fear. Sure she may have been hoping for a reply but, she actually wasn't expecting one.

A few feet in front of her, Kaze heard feet hitting the ground and the grass rustling and bending under feet.

Coming into view, a brown pair of leather shoes met the ground in front of Kaze, followed by the rustle of a blue cloak tugged around a tall figure's shoulders. In his hands was, what Kaze assumed, the source of the metal sound. A tall wooden staff with a series of rings, hitting each other and emitting a high pitched chiming.

"I wasn't expecting to meet anyone on this path, ya know?" The man chimed, "but it's a pleasant surprise."

The unrelenting grin never left his face, but only clouded by blue strands bouncing up and down as he stepped towards Kaze.

"Whoa whoa, no, who…?"

The words died on Kaze's lips and her thoughts raced endlessly as she wildly gestured to the man before her.

To this, the man merely cocked his head and seemed to be studying Kaze.

Kaze immediately searched him up and down for anything threatening, but in the process only became more confused. He was wearing bland and strange clothes; only donning a simple pair of dark green pants and a white shirt covered by a wild patterned cloak. Nothing that Kaze had ever seen before; only perhaps in history books…

"You...aren't from around here, are you?"

The question came as a surprise, to which Kaze replied in like, "neither are you…?"

A heavy silence followed this statements. One in the confusion and the other in….contempt.

" _They're here"_

* * *

Chapter 4 is done! Hope you all enjoyed

Michii


	5. The Naughty Corner

Chapter 5:

' _He threw me in jail.'_

Kaji stood, hands glued to the bars as she looked pleadingly at the now dozing man guarding the cell.

"Listen! I really mean no harm," She explained for the uptenth time that day, "I just...got lost and-"

The guard groaned and fixed his hands behind his head, "Girl. I really don't care," He looked at the redhead out of the corner of his eyes, "I'm just doing m'damn job."

Kaji mocked his groan with one of her own, "Man, I really do care," She huffed, "I wasn't doing anything wrong!"

The guard just seemed to get more cozy in the little wooden chair as Kaji continued to argue with him.

"Have you ever heard of wrongful imprisonment?" she demanded.

"Have you ever heard of 'Shut yer trap'?"

Kaji snorted harshly through her nose and cozied herself up against the cell door and scuffing her feet on the dirt floor.

The cell was a small cube crudely dug out of the earth far under whatever structure was above it. Many more of the same dungy cells were placed along the stoned pillars down the hallway, stopping before a set of stairs leading up.

Trying to wrap her head around the fact she was in a totally different place and time, Kaji noted how midevil it all looked, supporting her anxiety ridden mind.

She just wanted to go home….

If she really was in China, dated China no less, where was home? No matter how many times she pestered the guard before her, he seemed to have no idea what the hell she was talking about. Even telling her they shouldn't have bothered containing her, she was crazy.

The loud squeal of metal on stone echoed through the underground prison and the torches posted on the walls quivered as a breeze passed by.

The once dozing guard was now alert on his feet and attention turned to the staircase where someone was coming down just out of Kaji's view.

"General," The guard saluted the figure, "All is well here, Sir."

Only a grunt was heard in reply before another man came into view. He stopped just short of the locked door, arms held behind his back in painful uniform. Dressed in heavy, layered clothing, his shiny iron plates rested upon his red clad shoulders and fiery colors of red, black and yellow fabric; he looked like something right out of history book.

Everything from his sleek black hair tied tightly at the nap of his neck, to his grimy little dirt-stash and narrowed, piercing eyes resting under an over-elaborate helmet, screamed ancient China.

Those beady eyes shifted under the shadow cast by the long brim of his helmet, to look at the young woman in the cell.

"Name."

The question came out like an order and it was more so directed at the drowsy guard rather than Kaji.

"I've been told it's Ka-"

"Kaji. Kajirou Minami."

Kaji snarled between her teeth, cutting off the guard before settling her narrowed eyes on the 'general.'

The General glared and looked Kaji up and down before replying in a snide voice, "And where does she come from?"

Kaji scowled at him, "She comes from Tokyo, Japan."

"And where the hell is that?" He barked.

He wrung his hands in aggravation, clearly not prepared to ask so many questions. The man, under more observation had gotten increasingly more flushed and a slight bit of sweat glistened on his nose.

Kaji couldn't help but scoff at his attitude and crude defense, "What the hell is your problem buddy? And will someone please explain the annoyingly large personality that came into the room?"

The whole corridor was silent for a moment as the two others gave disgruntled stares and an uncomfortable shifting.

"I've received direct orders from His Majesty to bring the woman to the hall." The General said, looking over Kaji with narrowed eyes, before gesturing to the barred door she was held behind.

"Keys."

The guard moved quickly to procure the massive amount of keys on a rusted ring and hastily unlocked the heavy door.

Kaji stood stiffly a few feet away from the door, arms folded and a unpleasant grimace across her face, "His Majesty? What is this?"

The General stood outside the cell expectantly but when the redhead didn't move he raised an eyebrow, "I got orders, women."

"And I'm gonna be giving them." Kaji hissed and backed even further into the small cell, "Where are we going?"

"That's none of your damn business." He spat and stepped forward menacingly, to which Kaji took another step back.

"Then answer me, where am I?" Kaji repeated.

"How do you not know where the hell you are?" The General hissed, "The Empire of Konan doesn't take kindly to spies, Girl."

The large man lunged for Kaji's arm and grasped it with an iron fist before yanking her out of the rather cozy cell.

Kaji pulled back, desperate to be back in the safety of the cell, "I'm not going anywhere." Kaji snarled and planted her heels in the dirt.

Without a word the vastly larger man tugged her effortlessly along the hallway, no matter how much Kaji pulled away. The general hauled the young woman in front of him and pushed her up the winding, stone staircase.

Kaji's pleas and demands fell on deaf ears as she was forced above ground and into blinding light.

Remaining emotionless, the General continued on down a long corridor, dragging the young woman along with him. Kaji was bewildered by the sights around her, being met with a vast garden with vivid green plants and fluorescent flowers right outside the windowless hall. Large red columns broke the green landscape and the golden rays of light abruptly and seemed to stretch on as far as the eye could see.

' _This is no dream...is it?'_

Kaji inhaled dust-free air for the first time in hours. The freshness and warm air swarmed around her and blew the sweat-slicked strands of hair out of her face. It felt so good to be bathed in sunlight again….

Everything felt so organic and… unbelievably **real**.

Real and very much threatening.

Being roughly tugged around, Kaji jerked her arm away from the man, refusing to be pushed around. As confused as she was, she hoped to get the chance to explain herself.

And hopefully be proven wrong about where she was.

All too soon, Kaji was yanked towards a pair of large, red doors and told to 'halt.'

' _Who even says 'Halt' anymore?'_

The General paused before the nearest door, clearing his throat and pushing back his greasy, black hair, "Your Majesty? I have brought the woman in question, may I grace myself to bring her in your presence?"

Kaji cringed a bit as the door gave in from the other side, allowing full view of the room before her.

The room itself was grand as it was vast. Figures occupied the room in its entirety, all of which turned to stare at the young woman. All around them, crimson curtains fell gracefully, landing around their feet as columns reached the ceiling. The gold, speckled marble floor stretched on until meeting the legs of a magnificently large throne-like, plush seat. On top of the lavish throne, sat a rather familiar man…

The man sat stiffly in the throne, practically swimming in the layers upon layers of crimson and gold robes. His dull, golden eyes stared Kaji down from across the room from under his neatly kept bangs.

Kaji almost did not recognize him. He was the very same man who she had run into when she first got here. He had the same brown, silvery tresses and same golden eyes. Kaji was positive it was him.

And she was determined to explain to him the truth and clear her name.

Before long, Kaji was pushed into the room. Stumbling, she was shoved down on her knees.

All around her, the men had taken a knee as well and bowed their heads. After taking a few steps beyond Kaji, the General too bowed and kneeled before the throne.

Kaji was beyond bewildered and could hardly pay attention to the man who brought her in when he started to speak, "Your Highness," the General spoke to the man on the throne in a collected manner, "Here is the young trespasser that you've requested to see."

Kaji could see the corners of the General's mouth lift into a snide smirk as he spoke. Anger boiled inside her again, but before she could speak her mind, the man on the throne spoke in a light, airy tone.

"Dismissed."

The General rose quickly to leave the vast room, but not without giving the young women a snide smirk.

The Emperor calmly waited until the closing of the grand doors was heard before speaking to Kaji.

"Come Closer."

Kaji steadily rose to her feet and took a few steps closer to the golden throne. Kaji gulped and eyed the man in front of her. He wasn't glaring her down like some criminal, instead his gaze held hope and warmth. An unexpected surprise for Kaji, who crept to the base of the staircase.

"Your uh...Sir?" Kaji wasn't sure how to even address the situation she found herself in, "I don't even know how to begin to apologize for trespassing on your uh...establishment…but there's been a misunderstanding here."

No word came from the Emperor so Kaji continued, "I'm just lost, sir. If you could just tell me how to get back to Tokyo or even a nearby train station, I'll be outta here." Kaji explained, gesturing to the door.


	6. What Was Your Name Again?

_Short but a very dialog heavy chapter, and a long time coming._

 _"Kaze and Chichiri try and figure out what the hell is going on."_

"So you came from, what was it? Tokyo?" The strange man, who had introduced himself as Houjin Ri, said.

Kaze, who trotted alongside him, nodded, "Yes! And then there was that bright light in the middle of a dark room. I must have passed out…" she trailed off, trying to piece together what happened herself.

"And then you woke up in the middle of this forest?" Houjin concluded gently.

Kaze nodded, her brow creased in confusion, "I really have no idea what happened. This doesn't even look like Japan."

Houjin hummed in agreement, "that's probably because it's not." He stated calmly.

"What?"

Houjin, on the other hand, didn't seem all that worried, "We are in the Sashimo Forest right outside of Konan." He said rather cheerfully.

"Konan? Where is that?"

Now it was Houjin's turn to look confused, "Konan? We are in China."

Kaze's feet scuffed violently against the forest floor and a tremor ran through her body. Her hands shook as she clutched her sleeves, frozen in place. The strange man walked a few paces ahead of her until he realized she wasn't following.

"...China..?" Kaze tore her eyes from the ground and to Houjin who turned to her with concern in his eyes. Panic seized her throat and her legs shook in the wind blowing through the trees.

"Hey I'm sure there is a reasonable explanation, ya know!" Houjin jumped over to her side, "I'm a wandering monk, we can find somewhere to get you back home."

"Home? But how…" Kaze shuffled in her spot, "And a monk? What are you supposed to do?"

"Well…" Houjin didn't look all that sure of himself either, "perhaps we can talk through how you got here." He started slowly, as not to spook the poor women. "Take me through it again, ya know."

The cheery tone was ever present in his voice as he stuck close to the ashy haired women who trembled with the leaves.

His voice seemed to bring her out of her thoughts as she chewed her lip, "Y-yeah...let's start there."

"I had gotten to the National Library late at night and I had gone to the restricted room upstairs…" Kaze held back the tremor in her voice, "it was really dark but I heard a book fall behind me."

She trailed off, thinking of where and how the book fell. Hell, even why she was up there in the first place.

"Like a scroll? What was it called?"

Kaze shrugged, "scroll? Well, I suppose you could call it that…" Her mind tried to wrap itself around that fact that something was very wrong here, even something as simple as a book was called a scroll here.

"I got a look at the cover as it fell, it was some old Chinese book," she wracked her brain for details, "Shi Jin Tenchi Sho…" the words tumbled from her lips as the feeling of dread dug deeper into her gut.

Houjin stood silently beside her, just studying her as she spoke, "Shi Jin Tenchi Sho.." he repeated softly.

"It opened on her own and there was a bright red light," she mused, "I closed my eyes and when I opened them I was here."

Kaze finished her thought a looked at the man beside her. As fearful as she was, maybe he could indeed help her get home.

"The Shi Jin Tenchi Sho, ya know," what an odd saying, "is a Chinese scripture," Houjin said, giving Kaze a glimmer of hope.

"But the Shi Jin Tenchi Sho, or The Universe of the Four Gods, is a sacred text." Seriousness crept into his tone as he stepped in front of Kaze, "Are you absolutely sure that was the text you saw?"

Kaze nodded frantically, "I'm positive! Do you think there is a chance that the book did this?"

She scolded herself internally, no, a book couldn't do this. But...what actually happened then?

Houjin's cheerful mask juxtaposed the way his leg bounced and his folded arms, deep in thought.

"Do you think...the book did this?" Kaze voiced her irrational thoughts. She was about to laugh it off cynically but Houjin interrupted her, "it could have very well brought you here." He said somberly.

"Do you know anything about the Universe of the Four Gods?" He continued.

Kaze shook her head. She hadn't the faintest idea what that book was or what it had done to her. Kaze thought about the studio for a split second, they were still waiting for her to bring back that stupid magazine. "How could a damn book do this?"

Houjin thought about his next words, choosing them carefully, "the Universe of the Four Gods tells of the legend of the gods who rule over our world. It is considered a sacred religious text that foretells prophecies of descendants of our gods coming to restore peace to Konan."

Kaze nodded along carefully, "how did such a book get in Japan then? And not only that," Kaze gestured to the forest around them and to Chichiri, "nothing even remotely modern, it's like I went back in time." She ended softly, her voice barely above a whisper.

Houjin breathed out softly and found a place leaning against one of the many trees around them, "it brought you here, maybe for a reason."

Behind his mask, Houjin was caught in a place between confusion and relief. He may have just found a woman fated to save Konan from destruction but he didn't understand how. Kaze, whose eyes had left him, watched him with fearful eyes. He felt a pang of sympathy for the odd women. She stood in the middle of the dirt path, her strange outfit had mud clinging to it and dust had turned her long black pants into a dull brown. She was like nothing he had ever seen before, something out of his realm of possibility and yet here she was. By now there wasn't a doubt in his mind that she was fated to be here and save their country from chaos but he was at a loss about what course of action to do now. The best option was to bring her before the Emperor and allow him to bestow her heavenly duty upon her but, she was still confused and lost.

"You really think I came here because of some god?" Kaze didn't believe him in the slightest. "Things like that don't exist! None of this even makes sense."

Houjin understood that many people in the towns be passed through didn't realize that otherworldly things stalk in their shadows or that other humans possess forces beyond their imagination. So he put his hands up and out to her, "it is confusing, yes, but I know someone who can help you understand." He said with what he hoped was a friendly smile, "and maybe he could even help you get home."

That seemed to get her attention. Kaze chewed anxiously on her lip as the man tried to calm her. She knew what he was doing and she appreciated it but, could she really trust him? She studied him and his friendly demeanor. She couldn't tell if he was being deceitful or honest. Was he really only trying to help? He did mention that he was a monk, she had to give him points for that. Kaze decided that even if something did happen, she had faith that she could outrun him long enough to get help.

"Who can help?"

"The Emperor of Konan." Houjin chimed, "he has in his possession the Universe of the Four Gods. He would know about how to get you home better than anyone."

Kaze vaguely knew what that meant, the Emperor was royalty of the highest degree. But perhaps he was right, he would know better than anyone, and could even explain why she was here.

"I know this is a lot," Houjin confessed, "but I swear to take you to our Emperor. I only want to help."

He smiled lightly, hoping to ease her fears.

Kaze shuffled in her spot and weighed out her options. Sure, as much of a stranger as Houjin is, he may just be her best bet for getting back home. Wherever home is.

"If you think he can help," Kaze started, "then let's try."


	7. Say No To This (Take That, Hamiltion!)

There is no way in hell that this is China.

Kaji had been there before! She visited her father in Jiangsu not even four months before on her school break, she knew better than to think this was China. In fact, she almost laughed. But her body wouldn't give her the sick pleasure of laughter, not when the whole room of faces looked deadly serious.

"That can't be right." She blundered, "this place….looks thousands of years old."

Her eyes were drawn to the elaborate robes the man in front of her wore, even they looked thousands of years old and yet, brand new.

What puzzled Kaji, even more, was the look of contentment of his face. He just smiled politely at her, his hands clasped in front of himself, "You must have traveled a long way. You said you had come from," he paused trying to think of the name, "Tokyo?"

Kaji nodded rather desperately, "Yes! Japan, you know…" her voice got quieter as she made a wild gesture somewhere behind her, and the confusion in his eyes didn't boost her hope any.

"There...is no such land here." He worded it to her gently but it felt like a punch to the gut.

"How? I was just there, in the library. I- well it was late and there was that book and I don't remember how I got here."

"You don't remember coming here? What do you remember?" The so-called- Emperor said, gently as ever.

Kaji furrowed her eyebrows, "I was working the night shift, nobody was around," the pewter haired women flashed across her mind's eye, " and there was this damn book- I don't know how it got there but there was a bright, red light….and then nothing."

The room around her came alive with whispers, "Red? Red light!"

The emperor quieted the room with a lift of his hand and lent forward, silently urging her to continue.

"I just woke up here. In the middle of the woods." She finished, looking up at this so-called emperor. She knew how this looked, it looked like some crazy escaped the loony bin but that is how she felt. She felt crazy for thinking that she may, in fact, be in China. Not like the one she knew, but an older, more ancient one.

The room around Kaji was still buzzing with hushed whispers that soon turned into shouts. The faces around her were alight with joy, smiles on the once accusatory faces surrounding her. She looked up to the man in the exotic ropes in hopes he could explain the sudden change in mood. He had stood from the lavish throne, silks drooping low around his ankles as he stepped down the steps to be eye level with Kaji. The expression he wore was one of contentment as he leveled her with an eerily calm stare.

"There is an ancient prophecy that tells of a time when the Empire is in danger of being ruined by a colossal disturbance," The emperor started raising his hand to hush his advisors, "A girl from another world appears and through the power of our god, Suzaku, eradicate the catastrophe."

Oh boy. Kaji really didn't like where this was going. And this heavy eye contact thing goin' on was not winning him any brownie points.

She decided to jump in, "Listen, I really think you are reading too much into this. All this about gods? And prophecies? There is no such thing." Kaji argued. As much as she wanted to look away, all that hope in his gaze made it hard to not second guess herself.

"You say these things and yet you yourself have seen the red light of Suzaku, have you not?" He countered, holding her gaze.

She couldn't explain the red light, nor the book but this was insane. There was no such thing as gods or ancient prophecies. But the more he spoke, the more she couldn't deny this wasn't some fever dream.

He took her silence as an invitation to speak, "Our God is generous, wouldn't you like his power to be bestowed on you?"

Kaji shook her head, "No, not a chance." She wouldn't let herself be caught up in this lust- for- cosmic-power thing he was trying to sell.

"Don't you have something to wish for?" He tried again, "This power could grant you the way back to your home."

Kaji bit her cheek, that was some guilt trip. The more she studied him, the more desperation shone in his eyes. She could see the fine print.

"The Priestess of Suzaku has the whole nation to serve her, any wish granted, any whim doted upon." His brow creased slightly, "you are what this nation has wished for, you are our savior."

"Will you accept your duty as our Priestess?" He leaned forward, eyes pleading and the rest of the room ceased to exist.

Then, everything stopped.

Everything was still.

The emperor stopped moving, his eyes frozen on her face and Kaji realized that nobody in the room was breathing. She moved to the left, but the emperor's eyes were still frozen in the place she used to be. It was like time had stopped.

Kaji held her breath like the rest of them and watched for any movement. None came.

She moved around the emperor, but he stayed glued to his spot, mouth slightly opened.

She took in the room around her. The breeze no longer rustled the curtains and the advisors all stared at the spot where she stood moments ago. It's like they were wax figures, unmoving.

As she turned again, a shimmer caught her eye. Looking towards the throne, two eyes looked back at her. Those same emerald eyes she saw in the library, the ones that started this whole mess.

It was only half a second until those eyes were inches away from her own. That vermillion bird sat hovering over her, looking as real as anything she had ever seen.

Its stare unmoved by her gasp and recoil, instead it just hovered. Its feathers moved around, a brilliant red as if they were submerged in water and it remained unblinking. Until it spoke, echos in her mind.

"Say no."

Then she was back in the same place she stood minutes ago, in front of the emperor. He blinked and she saw his chest rising and falling with each breath.

"Will you accept your duty as our Priestess?" he asked for a second time, urgency clear in his voice.

This time, Kaji knew her answer. She didn't understand why, but she knew this was real. She felt her fingers curl into fists at her sides, she could feel each breath she took; this was no dream.

"No."


	8. Hit the Road, Jack

It had been five hours and twenty-three minutes since Kaze and Houjin Ri have begun making their way towards what she hoped was the palace. She had kept track. Or tried to.

They had passed some other people on their journey, each took a double take at Kaze when they passed. It was distracting to say the least and the pit of dread in her stomach grew with each passing hour.

She wanted to ask her companion as many questions as she could but she couldn't think of anything besides "Why?" or better yet, "How?"

Houjin seemed to have a sense about why she was here. And she could only pray that he wasn't trying to deceive her. Kaze thought of every life-threatening senario and every escape route. But it was impossible to try and memorize all of the beaten dirt paths they walked on. She lost track after about seven turns along the winding road. So, she settled for running anywhere at the first sign of danger. As stupid as It sounded, it was the best shot she had.

The best she could do now was try and make peace with the fact she was in China. But not the China she knows. This was something far more ancient then the modern world she knows.

She had hardly spoken to Houjin but regardless, he still attempted small talk and tried to explain where they were going. Kaze didn't understand a word he was trying to say half the time when introducing passing towns and little villages. With each passing cluster of homes in even smaller villages, Kaze grew more and more anxious about the coming events and coming face to face with someone she hoped could help her get home again.

Kaze turned slightly towards Houjin and spoke, "What you were saying about the Universe of the Four Gods...What exactly is the legend?" That piece of the puzzle was still confusing to her. All this talk of prophecies and gods had her head spinning.

"Ah the Universe of the Four Gods is known by many here and has been supplemented by the royal family for generations." Houjin started and slowed down enough to walk next to her, "the legend itself has given so many people of this world hope for the future."

"What part would you like to know about?"

Kaze gestured vaguely while minding the tree roots on the forest floor, "Anything. Mainly the part where I would come in." She was eager to hear his reasoning to why he so strongly believed she was one of these so-called holy maidens.

Houjin nodded in understanding, "Of course, I will explain to the best of my abilities." He vowed.

"The legend states that three holy maidens will descend from a foreign world to bring peace to warring nations and suffering people. The Priestess of Suzaku shall call upon the beast god to claim his power and restore the land. The Herald of Suzaku will guide the way for her Priestess to find her warriors and reveal details to build thriving nations. The Vessel of Suzaku speaks for the gods and performs their will as a way to contact the mortal world. Through the power of our god, any wish of the holy maiden's are granted and peace is brought to the nation." Houjin finished, casting a curious glance at Kaze to gauge her reaction.

She stared straight ahead, arms clutching her sides tightly. Her confusion was evident enough for Houjin and was to be expected. What wasn't expected through was her thoughtful nod and sigh.

"Another world huh…" Kaze rubbed the fabric of her sleeves between two of her fingers while she mulled over his words. The realization that this wasn't a dream was beginning to fade and in its place was desperation. A desperation for answers. So, she nodded as he spoke, trying to retain the information given to her.

"Well since you seem to know a lot about this, who do you think I am in all of this?" Kaze asked. It held no malice, but Houjin felt there was more to that question and that she was testing him.

Houjin answered her honestly, "I'm afraid I have no idea."

"None?"

"It isn't my place to award any titles to seemingly other-worldly maidens," he joked, trying to lighten his companion up. She did not take the bait.

"Then why do you seem so sure that I am part this prophesied legend?" Kaze demanded.

"Well, you aren't from this world aren't you? That much is obvious." The monk stated, waving his hands towards the sky, "Not many come from a red light and wake up with clothes like yours."

"This could just be some misunderstanding!" Kaze argued.

Houjin got quieter as he spoke, "I hope not, for the sake of Konan and the rest of this world." He turned to Kaze, a deep worry and sadness in his eyes, "We have been waiting and praying for a solution, forgive me if I seem eager." Houjin couldn't shake the bitterness from his voice as he spoke and felt the guilt immediately after. He inhaled and exhaled softly, "Forgive me, ya know? It has been a long and tiring year for all of us."

As much as Kaze was scared and confused, hearing another person's emotions helped clear her head. It allowed for her to focus on something else besides the thoughts and questions blurring her mind. Houjin's frustrations got the better of him and Kaze realized that, true to what she had been thinking, this was nothing like her world. If what he said was true then this was a world filled with war and chaos. She was used to the politics and disagreements of modern day Japan but, this was something far more feudal and medieval. It made her think back to her textbooks in school that taught her about the neighboring countries and their history. She knew all of their wars, famines and historical policies but she never imagined seeing it first hand.

"Is your nation really at war?" She asked softly. It wasn't fair to him, after promising to help her get answers, if she just continued to be stubborn about this situation.

He nodded after a pause, "Yes, with the eastern nation of Kuto but…" He trailed off and looked at the path before them, "None of us are truly at peace with one another."

"In this...prophecy," Kaze gagged on the word, "What do the Holy Maiden's do about it?" She couldn't fathom herself saving the world when she was just a normal girl, nothing special for extraordinary about her.

"These Holy Maidens are choose by our beast god and bestowed magical prowess to aid our world,"Houjin tried to explain it as simply has he possibly could without confusing the young woman next to him.

"Well that solves it right now, doesn't it?" Kaze said, a laugh bubbling up in her throat.

"Solves what?" Houjini was confused at the sudden change in his companion, her laughter startling him.

"You said magical prowess! None of which I have!" Kaze exclaimed proudly to the monk, "I have no special ability or power so this must all be a mistake!"

"While that may be true…" Houjin debated almost not telling her and crushing that new-found hope, "They only manifest under strict circumstances."

Kaze visibly deflated at his words and Houjin quickly proceeded with damage control, "That is why we must get to the palace and request an audience with the emperor! He will know if you are truly meant for this role." But every bone in Houjin's body knew she was. She had to be. He had never felt this pull before. The mark branded on his knee burned with a fierce heat at the thought. The celestial warrior in him knew she was destined to be here.

Kaze, oblivious of Houjin's conflict, nodded and relaxed a little.

"He is right, I just want answers and to go home…"

"Right, Your Emperor will have the answers I'm looking for…" I hope. Kaze shook her head, "How much further?" Kaze had been on pure adrenaline up until this point and now her feet ached and legs burned.

"Only an hour or two more." Houjin promised, pressing forward on the trail again. Kaze followed hot on his heels with the prospect on answers looming temptingly in the distance.


End file.
